Rome, Villa Torlonia's Serra Moresca opens to the public for the first time

The Serra Moresca complex at Villa Torlonia in Rome opens to the public for the first time. After articulate and complex restoration work conducted by the Capitoline Superintendence on the complex, whose architecture is inspired by theAlhambra in Granada and which was conceived to house exotic and rare plants but also as a setting for events, the spaces will therefore be open to visitors from December 8 in a path that leads from the Greenhouse to the artificial Grotto.

Designed around 1839 by the Venetian architect Giuseppe Jappelli and completed in 1841 with decorations by Giacomo Caneva, commissioned by Prince Alessandro Torlonia, the complex of the Moorish Greenhouse of Villa Torlonia will therefore offer itself to the public in a brand new opening. The Serra proper is a garden pavilion with a peperino structure and extensive use of iron, cast iron, and polychrome stained glass. Jappelli was well acquainted with the innovative use of cast iron, which he had already experimented with in the Villa Treves in Padua, and he closely followed the introduction of new technologies, as evidenced by several of his studies and designs for buildings to be used as greenhouses. The Moorish-style architecture devised by Jappelli was inspired, as anticipated, by the Alhambra in Granada, and the Greenhouse, in addition to performing the function that gives it its name, was also a theater for spectacular events, as evidenced by the presence of a half-hidden compartment, inside the great hall, intended for the orchestra. The Tower, on the other hand, was reserved for more intimate gatherings for a few participants, invited by Prince Torlonia to the sumptuous dining room on the top floor, which featured large windows with cast-iron frames and stained glass and walls richly decorated with polychrome stucco. The room had a couch in the center that, by the action of a mechanism, could rise to the ceiling, while from the floor below rose a laid table that was meant to surprise and impress the Prince’s guests. Between the Tower and the Greenhouse, Jappelli had then built an artificial Grotto, held up by wooden and stucco structures, no longer extant, with small lakes and suspended wooden paths (only partly preserved) thought to be the place of the Nymph (“Nymphae Loci”) and thus a natural and water-rich place that was meant to arouse wonder and amazement in anyone who passed through it.

The restoration has undergone two phases. Between 2007 and 2013, the first phase was carried out, which involved the restoration of the buildings. The complex was in very poor condition: the roofs of the Greenhouse collapsed, the polychrome glass largely lost, as lost were all the furnishings. The recovery conducted by the Capitoline Superintendency of Cultural Heritage and entrusted to the company I.A.B., which had won the tender, was aimed at restoring, as faithfully as possible, the original arrangement of the various parts of the complex, carried out on the basis of period documents and images and on the analysis of what had been preserved. The restoration involved both the structures of the buildings and the multiple pre-existing decorative apparatuses, with the intention of restoring the entire complex to its original splendor. The final cost of the work was € 4,947,737.17. With the second phase of works, the intention was finally achieved to open the complex to the public with an arrangement that was intended to be respectful of its original vocation: the Moorish Greenhouse of Villa Torlonia thus returns to host plants and tree species compatible with Jappelli’s design idea, but it will also be a space for events and for didactics associated with nature and greenery. The conservation work, concerning in particular the Greenhouse and the surrounding green area, which required major remediation work due to infesting vegetation, began in June, while the functional outfitting work for its new dimension, designed by architect Maria Cristina Tullio, began in September and was completed with today’s opening. The costs of this second phase of works, aimed at restoring the parts that had deteriorated during these years of not being open to the public and setting up and putting into operation the entire complex, amounted to approximately €260,000 (plus VAT). All the works were carried out under the technical and scientific direction of the Capitoline Superintendence for Cultural Heritage and executed, under the existing service contract, by Zètema Progetto Cultura, which used Sia Garden S.r.l. for the setting up and planting of the greenery, Ecofer S.r.l. for the supply of the metal furnishings and I.C.E.M. S.r.l. for the building restoration work.

The documentation used to reconstruct the appearance of the spaces consists of historical photographs and engravings, as well as the testimony of Giuseppe Checchetelli, who describes an “arid” landscape consisting of palms, agaves and aloes, around the colorful Greenhouse, and an artificial cave, full of water and raised wooden paths; two totally different landscapes and spaces, dry and sunny the former, humid and shady the latter. Going along with these historical settings, the project included, in the inner space of the Greenhouse, the restoration of the existing fountain and the insertion of the necessary technical equipment to accommodate the public and to set up a collection of palms, agaves, pineapples and aloes, chosen from species that had already been introduced to our country in the 19th century, that is, at the time of Jappelli. The inserted plants are arranged in the center of the space and in front of the masonry wall, in corten-colored iron pots, equipped with wheels, so that they can be moved in case of exhibitions, conventions or other types of events. Public reception is handled in the entrance hemicycle, furnished with specially designed furniture made of iron, in consonance with the structure of the building. Special attention has been paid to the lighting of the spaces, both to ensure the necessary safety lumens and to enhance the plants and the site. In the outdoor space in front of the Greenhouse, a small collection of palms, agaves and aloes was planted with dedicated dramatic lighting, adaptation of the existing tuff stone staircase (which leads to the second floor where laboratories will be built) was carried out, and new paving was inserted to make the outdoor space more easily usable for events and supplementary activities. The vallecola (“Nymphae Loci”) has been given back the original atmosphere of the cave that covered it, restoring and enriching the water rivulets that feed the two existing ponds and inserting some water lilies, oxygenating plants and lotus flowers in the second one. An assembled wood flooring placed between the Tower and the ponds will allow for environmental educational meetings or small performances, while the scenographically focused lighting design highlights the cave remains with warm light.

Included in the Villa Torlonia Museums circuit, the Serra Moresca complex will be open to the public from Wednesday, Dec. 8, with hours, in effect until March 31, that will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday (closed Mondays). From April 1 through September 30, however, opening hours will be from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. with the exception of July and August when the complex will be closed for weather reasons. Tickets costing €4 (full) or €3 (reduced) can be purchased directly at the Serra Moresca ticket office or at the Casino Nobile ticket office. You will also be able to pre-purchase them online at www.museivillatorlonia.it and www.museiincomuneroma.it (with a €1 surcharge) or by calling the 060608 call center, operating daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Free admission with MIC card. Extensive educational programming will be available to citizens with guided tours for groups and activities aimed at schools of all levels, both in Rome and the Metropolitan City and throughout the country. The space inside the Greenhouse and the adjacent outdoor space will also be able to host exhibitions, thematic fairs and other types of cultural events, as well as it will be possible to organize workshop activities or small entertainment shows in the adjacent, outdoor area in the Grotto.

Image: the Moorish Greenhouse of Villa Torlonia. Photo Tourism Rome

Rome, Villa Torlonia's Serra Moresca opens to the public for the first time

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